Dead Yonder
by TRikiD
Summary: After waking up from a coma, Wander sets out to look for Sylvia, who has mysteriously disappeared. On his way, he travels alone across the universe that was obliterated in the wake of Dominator's destruction. But he also realizes that destroying is the only way to survive in this new galaxy.
1. Chapter 1 - The Courtesy Call

Chapter 1 - The Courtesy Call

Everything was just…dark, quiet, and empty. I don't know why, though. It's also freezing cold, enough so that my limbs instantly stuck to the pitch black surfaces surrounding me. I haven't the slightest idea where I am or why, but something in the back of my mind kept telling me to high-tail it out of here.

My main problem is I can't move a muscle. But I can hear something, and it sounded slow and calm; the cold walls around me made the noises really muffled and hard to understand, but it sounds like…voices…two voices, in fact, and they were having a conversation. I hear tiny footsteps come closer, seemingly right outside…wherever I am…until they suddenly stopped. I go stiff and avert all my attention to my hearing.

"He still there?" one voice said.

"Yeah, he's still here," another voice replied.

The first voice snorted, "Heh. Does he stall have that stupid-ass smile on his face?"

"Seriously? The guy nearly dies in a freak accident, and you're mocking him?"

"What? Someone's gotta be able ta lighten the mood around here, and I don't see you volunteering."

"That's because I've given up, just like everyone else."

"Then why do you even come to work?"

"Because that's what the _Big Man_ ordered. Now c'mon, we gotta finish our patrol before Peepers wonders where we are."

"Man, I hate that squirrel-voiced nerd. Remember how pissed he was the last time we finished our patrol late?"

"Ugh, don't remind me. His lectures seem like they drag on for hours."

"Exactly! I'm tellin' ya, if _I_ was commander, I'd happily shove a laser gun up his ass and shoot 'm inta the sun!"

"Just shut up, and let's go already."

The conversation ended after that, and the footsteps eventually fade away. I wonder who those two were talking about, and what this "Peepers" did to make them so mad as to swear and threaten him with such a vulgar plan.

Back to my original plan, though. Find a way to escape. I try to fidget and squirm within my tight prison, but nothing works. Suddenly, I heard another pair of footsteps, but these were much lighter and quicker than the previous two. The owner of the running footsteps was also breathing heavily when he stopped right outside, like the others before. Why were so many people stopping by me, and who are they? Maybe they can shed some light on why I'm here.

The air abruptly raised temperatures until my icy confines began to melt at an alarming rate, but the good news is, I can finally see something other than darkness. The light grew so bright, that I was blinded in seconds while I was submerged in cold liquid. I try to swim to keep my head above the surface, but my limbs are too heavy and stiff from being frozen for Grop knows how long.

I take a deep breath in and sink, but then the liquid starts draining and I fall along with it onto an even harder surface. I still can't open my eyes because of the all-around brightness, and my breaths are weak and withered. I try to lift myself up, but my arms shake violently and I collapse back down flat on my stomach.

"Hey! Hey, are you ok? Can you hear me?" Someone was trying to talk to me, I know it, and I fought my exhaustion to answer him. But every time I try to speak, my words come out as single syllables mixed with shudders.

"Try to calm down. I'm going to help you."

"H…h-help…me?"

"Yes, to get you out of this place, but we need to hurry. It won't be long until they finish shifting the guards for the next patrol."

This information made the gears in my head really start to turn, so much so that I finally opened my eyes, albeit slowly, and blink rapidly to adjust my vision to the light. I lift my head slowly, and I see a short and stout silhouette kneeling in front of me. He stretched a small, gloved hand out to one of my own, and gently grabbed it to help me up. Despite his small stature, he managed to pull me onto my feet with ease. But my knees still feel really nimble, and they tremble as I try to stay up.

"You're gonna have to move, we don't much time," the stranger told me firmly, as he looped one of my arms over his shoulders for me to lean on him. We start walking with a fast pace down a long metal corridor, and I realize just how dimly lit this place is the longer I focus on it. The light sources are pale and incandescent, and most of them buzzed and flickered.

"W…where…?" I tried to finish my sentence, but the stranger cut me off.

"We're in the lower levels of a cryo-prison. They keep all of the galaxy's remaining criminals here—even though there aren't many left."

I want to ask him who "they" is and what he meant about that last part, but we stop next to a keypad and he typed a certain code in frantically. A hole in the wall that wasn't there before suddenly opened, and it seems to lead into a deep, dark hall.

"C'mon, hurry!" the stranger whisper-shouted, and I hobbled next to him as he dragged me deeper into the darkness. The door closed behind us soon after, and we're quickly enveloped in a void of pitch black. There's a few seconds of silence before I hear something scratch a rough surface, and then there's light. The stranger is now holding a tiny stick with an even tinier flame on its end in his fingers, casting a soft orange glow on his face…at least, I think it's his face; the entirety of his head is nothing but a giant eyeball with a light red iris, which dilated when he started examining me closely.

"Does anything feel broken?" he asked me while walking all around me.

"U-Uh…no…" I answer.

"That's good. You probably feel a little shaken and stiff, right?"

I nod.

"That's expected. You may not believe this, but you've been frozen in that chamber for five years."

My eyes shot wide, "F-Five…years?"

"Yes, and the only reason I broke you out now is because Sylvia's gone! You're the only one who can find her!"

I tilt my head and furrow my brow, "Who's Sylvia?"

* * *

 **How do I start out the new year? With a grimdark Wander Over Yonder fanfic, of course! Hope you enjoyed the first chapter!**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD! Bye-bye!**


	2. Chapter 2 - The First Impression

Chapter 2 - The First Impression

The eyeball creature gasped in horror, his pupil shrinking to a pinprick. I could tell that what I said caused everything he believed to come crashing down, but I wasn't sure why.

"No…this can't be happening…you're not supposed to forget! N-Nothing bad is ever supposed to happen to you…mostly…" the eyeball creature rambled, as he paced in the darkness nervously.

"What do ya mean? What's wrong?" I asked him.

"If you can't even remember who Sylvia is, how can we even expect to _find_ her?"

"'We'?"

He looked like he was about to explain some more…if he had a mouth…but sudden loud bangs came from the other side of the entrance we came through. Some gruff voices followed soon after.

"The computer detected a disturbance in chamber eight-sixteen!"

"He must've gone this way! Surveillance couldn't spot him using any other exit!"

"Shit! They know you're gone!" the eyeball whisper-shouted before grabbing my arm, and blew out the match before sprinting down the dark corridor.

"What's goin' on?" I asked out of fear, as my still-stiff body tried to keep up with the eyeball.

"We gotta escape, that's what going on," the eyeball quietly informed while looking back at me momentarily, "You may not believe it, but you're highest on the galaxy's most wanted list."

"What?! Why?!"

"Shh!"

I lowered my voice, but I was still panicking, "What did I do wrong?"

"Look, I don't have time to explain! Just be quiet and follow me!"

I didn't know what kind of trouble we were in, I didn't know who was chasing us, and I definitely didn't know if I could trust this little guy. just because he freed me from an icy prison doesn't mean he has completely pure intentions.

Something graced my right arm after a loud noise shot through the air, and despite it happening quickly, the burning pain remained long after. I yanked my other arm from the eyeball creature's grasp to hold my wound, to which he skidded to a halt after I stopped.

"What are you doing?!" he hissed at me, but I only managed to respond with a strained grunt. I removed my hand from my injured arm, revealing a short but deep gash with blood pouring from it and staining my palm.

I looked back from where we came, and saw multiple projectiles similar to the one that struck me flying through the darkness in an attempt to hit us. Whoever or whatever was chasing us obviously had laser guns, which left me no other choice than to follow the stranger since he was the only thing not trying to kill me…at the moment.

"Let's go," I begged while putting pressure on the wound to slow the bleeding. The eyeball nodded and continued on, this time a bit slower for me to keep up.

We kept on down the dark hall, narrowly missing the laser beams firing from behind us, and eventually came up to a bigger chamber. There were large holes on all of the walls, and they looked like chutes of some kind. The eyeball led me to the nearest chute before pushing a button to open the hatch, and pulled out a small laser gun of his own.

"You had one of those the whole time?!" I shouted.

"I can only use it for emergencies, and I say this calls for it!" the eyeball argued while peaking around the corner with his gun at the ready.

"What're you doing?! We gotta go!"

"No, _you_ have to go! You won't get far in your condition, and you've got a long way to go!"

"What are you saying? You can't just leave me alone! I-I'll get killed… _you'll_ get killed!"

"Listen to me, Wander!"

I stiffened when he snapped at me, and my eyes locked with his when he finally looked at me. Something about that name, though completely unfamiliar to me, made it sound incredibly important.

"I was sent here to break you out, nothing more!"

He was interrupted when one of the beings chasing us finally founded the corner, but was instantly stopped in its tracks when the he shot it right in the chest. It tumbled to the floor and coiled in pain, clutching at the smoking wound on its mid-section…and that's when I got a good look at it. It looked just like the creature that saved me, completely with a skinny body, albeit a little taller, and an eyeball for a head; this one was dressed in different attire, and instead wore skin-tight, black clothes and a helmet with two lightning bolts on it. Another differing feature was their eye color; instead of a dark red iris, this one's pupil was pitch black while the sclera was blood red.

But no matter what this creature was wearing or what eye color it bore, one thing was certain: It was exactly like the guy that woke me up.

Said savior finally looked at me again, smoke rising from the tip of his gun.

"Nothing will change if I don't make it out, but you won't be worth anything to the galaxies dead!"

I looked at the chute, and then back at him.

"But…"

"There's no time to argue! When you get to the bottom of that chute, there'll be a group waiting for you! Tell them that Westley said to head for the treasure of the abandoned Ballzeria system!"

"What does that even mean?!"

"They'll understand, trust me!"

Two more guards suddenly leapt out and tackled my savior, knocking him flat on his stomach and pinning both of his arms under their knees. After they yanked his gun from his grasp, one of them pulled up on his arm far enough to risk breaking it. And even as he cried in agony, the guards showed no emotion whatsoever towards the pain they were causing.

"You…have to…go!" my eyeball creature grunted.

I had no words, and I could barely feel my legs as I backed up to the chute. A few more guards ran into the room, and they all pointed their guns at me. I was reminded of the stinging pain in my arm, and I couldn't imagine facing it again in a more fatal area.

Just as I took one last step back, a sickening snap echoed through the air. The poor eyeball they had pinned down now had a broken arm, and he was in so much pain that all he could utter was a strained yelp…and it was all my fault. I didn't want this to happen. All he tried to do was help me, and now he could be killed.

The shock made me lose my balance, and I tripped backwards into the chute.

I don't know what I expected on my way down, other than darkness and bumpy turns. There would no doubt be a lot of huge bruises all over me by the time I reached the end.

The end was actually closer than I thought, and I landed on a flat and dusty surface. Dirt…it was probably dirt. I sat up on my knees and dusted myself off, but I froze as soon as I felt something press against my forehead. I fought the urge to tilt my head, and my eyes drifted up to the firing end of yet another laser gun pointed at me.

The person holding the gun was a short, rabbit-like creature; her fur was dark blue, and she was clad in a raggedy trench coat and bullets that were strapped across her chest.

"Get up real slow," she demanded in a raspy voice.

I nodded and held my hands up, and slowly got onto my feet without taking my eyes off of her gun. Her glare hardened when she took the gun away from my head, but kept it pointed at me as she circled around me.

"Who are you?" she hissed.

"I-I…um…" I still don't know who I am. And if I can't give her an honest answer, she's sure to kill me on the spot.

"I think it's him, Arin," another voice said.

A group of people approached from behind the rabbit. There were two more rabbits like her; one was small and violet, and the other was older and snow white. The last one was another eyeball creature, but he was much bigger and buffer and wore an old cloak.

"Arin" scoffed and rolled her eyes, and sent a look towards the white rabbit.

"Oh, really? If it's him, then where's Westley?"

The white rabbit shrugged.

"Um, excuse me?" I muttered. I swallowed a ball of fear when Arin aimed her gun at me again, "Was Westley, uh…the little guy that…freed me?"

"You've seen him? Where is he?" Arin urged.

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out; not when my mind replayed the scene of poor Westley getting attacked and broken. I couldn't even look in their eyes, and my reaction said it all.

"Wait…he didn't make it?" the bigger eyeball creature asked in surprise.

I still didn't look up, but I shook my head.

"You murderer!" Arin shouted and lunged at me, and punched me square in the mouth. I nearly stumbled and held my mouth with one hand while balancing myself out with the other. The bigger eyeball rushed over and grabbed Arin, proving himself to be a lot stronger than her as she struggled.

"How could you do that?! He saved your ass, and you just leave him to die?!" Arin screeched while helplessly flailing around.

"I didn't…mean…to…" I gargled between bloody spurts. I wriggled my tongue around and felt a tooth had been knocked loose. Blood leaked from the loose tooth, and dripped down my chin and onto my hand.

"He probably didn't have a choice," the white rabbit tried to reason.

"The hell he didn't!" Arin snapped back before glaring at the bigger eyeball, "Damn it, put me down already, Moose!"

"Harley's right, though! It's not his fault!" Moose added firmly, still barely using any energy to hold Arin back.

"Westley would want us to go on," the smaller rabbit piped up softly, which easily got everyone's attention. Even Arin stopped struggling and relaxed, which coaxed Moose into finally letting her go.

Arin closed her eyes and sighed, shaking her head in defeat. She eventually looked back at me.

"Did Westley say anything?" she asked.

"Y-Yeah…I think he said something about 'the trinket of the Blizzeria system' or something?" I guessed with a shrug.

"The treasure of the abandoned Ballzeria system," Arin corrected, "Of course he wants us to go there."

"Why? What's this 'treasure' supposed ta be?" I questioned.

"We'll explain more later. Right now, we need to find a safer place to rest for the night," Moose explained before everyone turned and walked off.

It wasn't until then that I got time to get a better look around me. The skies were all dark and starless, and the horizon was as far and flat as the eye could see; there were no hills, no forests, no shapes of any kind on the horizon.

"You coming?" the little violet rabbit asked me.

I didn't answer him. I just quietly followed close behind everyone else, but I kept my distance from Arin.

* * *

When the group finally decided we were far enough away from any danger, they set up camp and built a fire. I made sure to maintain my farther distance, and stayed out of everyone's way. Once the fire was built, everyone else gathered around it and started talking quietly. I watched and listened from a few feet away.

I lost interest in whatever they were talking about pretty quickly, and turned my attention to the sky. Although there were no stars, traces and patterns of different colored nebulas from miles away could be seen. It looked kinda like a light show, and it was the first thing to bring a smile to my face.

"Hey!"

My smile dropped and so did my gaze when Arin shouted at me.

"Come here," she ordered.

I shared nervous glances with everyone else, who all just looked back with expectant expressions.

"We gotta talk to you for a sec," Arin added.

"Ok. What about?" I asked fearfully.

"If Westley said to go to they Ballzeria system, then that's where we're going. But we wanted to make sure you know _why_ we're going there," Moose calmly pointed out.

I thought about it for a moment.

"Sorry. Not a clue."

That made Arin's cold glare sharpen.

"Do you know what's in the Ballzeria system?" she asked me.

I shook my head. Arin stood up and walked up to me.

"Do you know who Sylvia is?"

"No."

Everyone's faces were quickly racked with fear, as Arin stopped just inches in front of me and stared me down.

"Do you even know your own name?"

"Uh…no, I don't."

As if what I'd just said made everything worse, there was a collective gasp amongst the group; Arin's glare even turned to that of shock, but it quickly let anger take over again.

"Are you serious?" Arin seethed through clenched teeth, and grabbed my shoulders tightly, "You don't remember _anything_?!"

The bruises I got from tumbling down the chute ached from Arin's vice grip, but it was nothing compared to the fear rattling around in my head.

But I couldn't bring myself to lie, "No."

Arin's hands dropped from my shoulders, and her eyes drifted down to the ground.

"I don't believe it," she began softly, "We came all this way for nothing. Westley is dead, and it's all been for nothing."

"We don't know that he's dead," Harley reassured.

"What does it matter?! The entire universe is fucked now!"

Arin paused and pointed a finger at me.

"And you…you were supposed to be everyone's last hope, yet you can't even remember who you are. Do you have any idea how much we've sacrificed just to get to you?"

I backed up and raised my hands in defense. I felt like I was back in that room with Westley, as we were being swarmed by guards. If only there was another chute to swallow me up and savor me the guilt this time. I don't know even know what I'm supposed to feel guilty for, but I can't fight that something is weighing heavily on my conscience.

"I-I'm really sorry, ya'll. I truly am…but I don't know what you want from me," I tried.

"He's still Wander," the little rabbit spoke, "It doesn't matter if he can't remember anything. If anyone can spread hope throughout the galaxy and find Sylvia, it's him."

"Dakota's right. We can't just give up because of one little inconvenience," Moose agreed while crossing his arms.

"I can't believe we're going through with this," Arin muttered angrily under her breath.

"Hey, if there's a chance he can help us, we need to take it," Harley pointed out.

"Alright, alright! Quit nagging me, or I'm changing my mind!" Arin snapped but then lowered her voice, "Everyone, get some rest. We've got a long day of traveling ahead of us tomorrow."

With that, everyone disbanded and got comfortable in their own makeshift sleeping bags; that wasn't saying much since their sleeping bags were nothing more than tattered blankets and pillows. No one said a word to me while getting ready for bed, so I tried to make myself comfortable on the cold, hard ground.

The guilt of not being able to help as much as I should kept eating at me, so I turned away from the fire. Despite the fire being close by and the ground feeling like that of a desert, I was freezing. Not even the fur on my body—which I just now noticed—could help warm me up.

"Hey," a soft voice spoke, and I practically jerked in response. I rolled over and found Dakota standing behind me, and he had a pair of old socks and shoes in his hands.

"Uh, hi," I uttered.

"I brought these for you," Dakota informed while trying to hand me the clothing.

I looked at him in surprise, "Really?"

"Yeah. You probably don't remember, but you always wore something like this."

I couldn't help but smile at his kindness.

"Huh…thanks," I state and take the socks and shoes.

"No problem. I brought these, too," Dakota said while smiling back, and leaned down to drag an extra pillow and blanket closer to me.

My smile fell into a frown, "You're too kind."

Dakota noticed my change in attitude, "You ok?"

"I just feel bad accepting your kindness when I can't even remember how ta help ya'll."

"Don't worry about it. You've just got amnesia, and that's not your fault."

"Try telling that to Arin."

Dakota shrugged and spun on his heel out of boredom.

"Yeah, my sister isn't known for her patience," Dakota admitted.

"You're related?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Yup. Harley, too. She's the middle child and I'm the youngest, so that means Arin's in charge," he explained while starting to play some invisible game of hop-scotch.

"What about the big guy?"

"Moose is Harley's boyfriend."

I simply nod…and then, there's an awkward silence. I already hate it.

"So, uh…what's my name again?" I ask.

"Everyone called you Wander, but maybe you could change your name again," Dakota explained.

"Again? What do ya mean?"

"We all heard that you changed your name every time you found a new galaxy. I think one of your previous names was Tumbleweed."

"Right. I think I'll just stick with Wander for now."

Dakota shrugged, "Suit yourself."

"Time for bed, Dakota!" Arin shouted.

"See ya," Dakota whispered to me before heading over to his sisters, and got comfortable between them for protection.

I wanted to savor the peaceful moment while it lasted, but I couldn't when I recalled all I've just been through. I've been unfrozen from a cryo chamber, broken out of prison, shot at, punched in the face, and tasked with being the universe's last hope…all in one day.

If this kept up, I won't last a week.

* * *

 **Whoo, that took longer than I thought it would! Sorry for the long wait, guys.**

 **Also, the rabbits in this are the same as the little rabbit creature in "The Good Deed."**

 **Until the next chapter, I'm TRikiD! Bye-bye!**


End file.
